Vigor of Twelve is a play off of the fact that Jesus had twelve disciples. It is a name that helps stress an importance on discipleship. This blog is specifically geared for younger people and mature Christians who don't mind a fresh, bold, and blunt approach to faith. Comments welcome, let's begin the discussion!

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Thursday, May 17, 2012

Acts 16:25-28

Paul
and Silas continued to praise God even while in prison. But they did more than talk about God, they
sang about Him! Suddenly an earthquake
occurred and all the doors of the prison were opened and the chains on everyone
fell off. When the jailor woke up and
saw that the doors were all open, he planned to kill himself. Paul interceded, claiming that although they
were free to escape they had not left.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul
and Silas (and any other prisoners with them) refused to give up on God. They refused to see the events of their life
as anything other than God’s plan unfolding.
Even though they seemed to be in their bleakest point – how much more
bleak can life get than being bound and thrown in prison – they were faithful
to God. Even though from a worldly
perspective they had every reason to doubt and complain about their life
circumstances, they opted to praise God instead.

Are
you inspired by their ability to remain faithful after being thrown in
prison? Why do you think that they can
remain faithful even though they have been thrown in prison – even after doing
the work of God and casting out a spirit that was thwarting God’s work?

Second Thought:

God
takes care of his own. God honors the
faithful. This is true on an eternal
perspective as well. Even when we die,
we know and believe that God will honor the faithful and raise us up into
eternal life with Him. God does not
abandon us. He does not lead us into
trouble and then forget about us.

Does
it help any knowing that time and time again we see God pulling His people out
of situations that should have ended poorly for them? Why is that important to see?

Third Thought:

Paul
and Silas care about the jailor. They
know that the doors to freedom have been opened. However, they also know that God has presented
them with an opportunity to demonstrate God’s love to the jailor. Had they fled, the jailor would have killed
himself rather than face the punishment that he deserved. {Remember
that in Roman places captors received the punishment that the prisoners should
have received if the prisoners escape.}
By staying in the prison, they are able to demonstrate faithfulness and
love to the jailor – when no faithfulness and love was expected.

How
good are you at not taking advantage of opportunities in order to show love and
faithfulness to someone else? How does
what Paul and Silas do here in the prison speak to the fight against the
self-monger with each of us?